Bayer Grants Marketing, Registration Rights to New Biological Fungicidal Product

Posted by |20 October 2011

Bayer CropScience has granted exclusive worldwide rights to Shemer, a biological fungicidal product to Koppert Biological Systems, a Netherlands company.

Koppert Biological Systems has exclusive worldwide rights on the marketing, registration and production Shemer, which is based on the yeast strain Metschnikowia fructicola.

“The acquisition of this product fits in well with our strategy of broadening our product portfolio and developing new markets,” said Henri Oosthoek, Koppert’s director of global marketing and sales. “Shemer will add value for growers in established markets such as protected vegetables and ornamentals and will create opportunities to enter the new markets currently in development, including fruit crops and grapes. It will strengthen our position within the growing industry of biocontrol agents. It expands our microbial ambitions for sustainable crop protection.”

Shemer acts as an antagonist that protects fruit and vegetables against diseases caused by fungal pathogens, according to Bayer. It also supplements and complements pre-harvest and/or post-harvest applications and is ideal for use as a part of resistance management and IPM (integrated pest management) programs.

“By reaching this agreement, we are convinced that we have chosen the right partner to finalize the development of Shemer and to exploit the full market potential of this promising biological fungicide in pre-harvest and post-harvest applications,” said Frank Terhorst, head of Fruits & Vegetables and Insecticides at Bayer CropScience.